Despite Cruz stance, gay-friendly GOP group invited to CPAC

Despite the anti-gay marriage sentiments of Sen. Ted Cruz, 2013 keynote speaker, gay-friendly group GOProud has been invited to this year’s CPAC. (AP)

Some of the most socially conservative members of the Republican Party, most notably Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), aren’t making it easy for the GOP to move toward an image of inclusiveness in time for the 2016 presidential race.

In a conversation this week with Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, Cruz criticized the Obama administration for its same-sex marriage policies, proclaiming that “hearts weep for the damage to traditional marriage that has been done.”

But in an effort to back away from its historically polarizing stance on social issues, the American Conservative Union announced Wednesday that its annual Conservative Political Action Conference invited GOProud, the same gay-friendly conservative group that was banned from last year’s conference, to attend this year’s events in March.

The group will not be offered a booth or sponsorship, but will be able to attend all conference events.

“CPAC is about finding conservative solutions to every challenge in America and not just saying ‘no,’ ” said Al Cardenas, chairman of the American Conservative Union. “We’re determined to win the majority of American support.”

GOProud was first rejected from the conference in 2011, when prominent socially conservative groups, including the Family Research Council, spoke up against their attendance.

CPAC’s announcement of their invitation to GOProud came just one week after Cruz, who will headline the opening event of the March conference, introduced the State Marriage Defense Act on the Senate floor. The legislation was written in response to the recent federal court decision to extend benefits to same sex couples who are legally married but reside in a state where their marriage is not recognized.

“There has been a concerted assault on traditional marriage,” Cruz said. “It’s coming from the Obama administration, which has been the most consistently anti-traditional marriage administration we have ever seen.”

Many Republicans are concerned that unless conservatives are willing to adjust their views on social issues, the GOP will hold no chance in the 2016 presidential race and could also risk losing its majority in the House.

But despite some Republicans’ intent to move toward a more progressive stance on social issues, the far right wing of the Party remains consistent in its conservative platform, particularly when it comes to same-sex marriage laws.

“The best environment for a child to be raised in is a loving home with a mother and father and a strong marriage that is the foundation for that family, for the community, and for the church.” Cruz said. “We need to stand up, I believe, and defend traditional marriage, and especially do everything we can to prevent the federal government from forcing a different definition of marriage that is contrary to the views of the citizens of each state.”

Due to Democratic control of the Senate, the State Defense Marriage Act, which was introduced by Cruz and Sen. Mike Lee of Utah last week, is very unlikely to pass, and President Obama has vowed to veto it if it does.

The 2014 CPAC conference, from March 6 through 8 in the D.C. suburbs, will include other speakers who have spoken up against same-sex marriage, including Governor Rick Perry, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY).

But members of GOProud still plan to accept the invitation, calling it a “first step” toward a more socially progressive Republican platform.

But in an interview with Slate’s David Weigel, former executive director of GOProud Jimmy LaSalvia said that an invitation with limitations was worse than no invitation at all.

“If I was still running GOProud, I wouldn’t accept a three-fifths invitation to CPAC,” LaSilvia told Weigel.